


23

by Anonymous



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Implied depression/eating disorder - Freeform, Other, Poor quality writing, one-sided, very mild
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 11:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17682893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Title suggestions welcomed.





	23

Every time Simon sees Izaya, he looks thinner. It’s unmistakable in how his skin wraps over bone, making his fingers look spidery. There is no trace of fat. Today he can see that Shizuo has gotten to him, the beginning shades of a contusion forming near his eye, which looks sunken from an obvious lack of nourishment. It's why Simon can’t offer his usual bright smile when Izaya comes to the restaurant, smirking like everything's fine. Something Izaya notices in which shame?--anger?--flashes in his eyes, but Simon takes him by the arm and carefully ushers him inside before he can change his mind.

There was nobody else but them at the moment, Dennis busy in the back. The dark Russian sits him down by the counter and shouts out to his co-worker the order before Izaya can speak, already knowing it. Izaya is silent, the faux-cheer he commonly shrouded himself in now gone with tension creeping in.

Simon lets go of his arm and watches it recoil to his person. The reaction he then gets is not what he usually expects from the other, frankly taken-aback.

“What the fuck, Simon?” Izaya hisses at him in Russian.

“You need sushi, you eat, yes,” Simon quickly replies in Japanese, waving off Dennis with a hand, feeling eyes on him from behind the curtain. Only until he no longer felt them did he drop the cheery act, smile lost in his growing serious.

“What is wrong, Izaya?” he asks, in Russian. “Why aren’t you eating?”

That indignation is back, but it doesn’t phase him. Izaya knows it and shrinks a little despite maintaining his glare.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?” He’s trying to mask it by sounding nonchalant, but Simon can hear the frustration behind his voice.

“Will this be the first you’ve eaten in a week?” Simon frowns when Izaya says nothing. “Why..?”

Izaya grits his teeth, feeling his throat go dry. Simon has to notice, of course, and gets him some tea.

“There are other outlets you can use for your feelings,” Simon says gently, setting the cup down before him. “You don’t have to take it out on yourself.”

The laugh that leaves him is nothing short of bitter. “And what could I do that for? I’m perfectly fine.” He smiles a smile that he knows Simon sees through. That Shizuo sees through, calling him a coward before kissing his face with his fist. And Shinra, who has seen through it from the beginning, who will likely question the same when he goes to him for painkillers.

Interrupting the silence, Dennis brings out the tray of fatty tuna, saying not even a word before disappearing back behind the curtain.

Though his mouth is clearly watering, Izaya hesitates before taking a piece between his fingers. It concerns Simon.

“I enjoy our conversations, you know,” he says, moving behind the counter now that he’s sure Izaya won’t scurry off. “There’s not many Japanese that speak Russian. What am I to do if you die of starvation?”

“Simple. Go back to Russia.”

Simon chuckles, but there’s little humor behind it. It’s easier to bottle your feelings up when no one understands, easier to just wither away when there’s no one to check in on you. He knows this, first hand.

“I have ears if you need them.”

Izaya takes his first bite of the sushi in all the time since Dennis brought it out to now. Savors and enjoys the taste, because he loves food and he loooves otoro, even when sadness kills his appetite, instead encouraging an indulgence in self-destruction.

Seeing him eat made Simon smile. He wasn’t sure if he should hide it, in fear it might make him stop, but the other was clearly busy enjoying his meal. Simon went and decided to clean some tables meanwhile, business slow on a Monday but just to keep himself busy.

When Izaya signals to him about the bill, Simon tells him it’s on the house. He knows Izaya does not need pity, but he wants to let Izaya know that he can use him as such an outlet. It’s highly unlikely he will actually do so, given they are not exactly buddies, but they are not so distant that Simon would treat him as he would a stranger.

When Izaya leaves, Simon can see the cheer back in his strut, always cold hands tucked in pockets and thin back disappearing into the crowd.

In truth, Simon is fine viewing Izaya as an acquaintance even if he doesn’t approve of his antics, but sometimes when they’re talking together, he finds he enjoys the other man’s company a little more than he should. It’s not enough to leave his heart aching, but enough that he would hope the informant would tend better to his health.

**Author's Note:**

> Title suggestions welcomed.


End file.
